Blast(beat) from the Past: Forgardur Helvitis

There was a man by the name of Thorvarld who was the son of Asvald Ulfsson. Thorvald’s son was called Eirik the Red, and both father and son left Jadri in Norway for Iceland because of some killings.

The Saga of Eirik the Red
Circa 1300

Forgardur Helvetis
Gerningavedur
Blastbeat Mailmurder
2002 [Re-released in 2007]
Of the all the things you, the faithful listener, have come to expect from card carrying members of the grindcore musicians’ union, stopping an album for nearly two minutes of gravely chanted poetry is probably not one of them. But there it is on Icelanders Forgardur Helvetis’s 2002 album Gerningavedur: penultimate track “Heljarslod” is deliberately-paced poetry, read in the lilting accents and stern cadences I’ve come to associate with Ingmar Bergman’s stoic black and white meditations on human alienation and the absence of God.
While my Icelandic may not be sufficient to decipher what the tiny Atlantic isle’s sole grindcore ambassadors are raving about on their 21 other songs, I’ve spent enough time studying the sagas and Eddas to have a small glimpse of the importance of poetry in Norse culture. Egil Skallagrimsson retained his head thanks to the felicity of his words. While “Heljarslod” felt awkward at first, its place and importance grew on me with subsequent listens. Now I think it needs to be there, an emotional anchor to the blood eagle brutality of the music.
Musically, Forgardur Helvetis hit all the expected notes: the blastbeats are on point, the riffs have a distinctive Scandinavian air as though the earliest At the Gates material were being reinterpreted by Creation is Crucifixion and the vocals are impassioned. But there’s also a breasting dragon ship bravado to their song construction that suggests they have Viking-era Bathory albums lurking in their plundered record collection (They also cover Dark Throne’s “Undir Utfarartungli” aka "Under A Funeral Moon"). The songs won’t win many awards for memorability, but they serve their purpose. However, though it’s only 31 minutes long, Gerningavedur just feels longer. There’s definitely about 10 minutes worth of fluff that could have been given a Viking funeral before release. Despite that, it’s entertaining to get an album from a rarely heard from corner of the Scandi-grind community.

[Full disclosure: Blastbeat Mailmurder sent me a review copy.]

Astral Projection: Dephosphorus Play With Greek Fire

The United States’ space shuttle program may have lurched to an ignominious end, but other brave souls still dare to boldly go where no infinitive has been split before, plying the furthest reaches of the cosmos in search of adventure or enlightenment.
Piloting a craft cobbled together from the remains of grindcore, crust punk, black metal and that meditative space bubble thing from Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, Greek grindonauts Dephosphorus are a three man astro(logy/nomy) seminar in a musical form they call astrogrind.
“The astrogrind philosophy doesn’t have necessarily to do with the definition of a new genre since our music style is not something totally new,” guitarist Thanos Mantas said. “There are obviously influences from other bands and genres, the only thing sure being that the aura of our music is the one that somebody would expect from a band with such a concept. Since we have an astral concept, the term ‘astrogrind’ has popped out naturally as a designation, even though it does not determine something self-luminous, born from scratch.”

In Brightest Day

Combing a unique – for grindcore, anyway – fixation on the mystical with the accustomed aggression we all crave from blastbeat purveyors, Dephosphorus served up something unexpected, unheralded and absolutely enjoyable with debut EP Axiom, which has since been pressed on a 12-inch by 7 Degrees Records and made available as a free download by the band. Along with fellow space cadets PSUDOKU, Dephosphorus ensure 2011 will be the year grindcore left many of its terrestrial concerns behind in favor of swirling new vistas and unexplored horizons. It will all get a fuller expression on pending full length Night Sky Transform, which vocalist Panos Agoros promises will be more “aggressive, memorable and intense” than Axiom.
It can be easy to become burnt out and jaded if you’re constantly gorging on all that grindcore has to offer (by that measure I feel like the Sally Struthers of grind some days). After a few too many Nasum clones, getting intergalactic planetary/planetary intergalactic with astrogrind was exactly what I needed this year. Though Thanos and Panos kept things far more traditional with prior outfit StraightHate, Dephosphorus began mining the same science fiction authors that inspired luminaries such as Jon Chang to bolster the more mystical bent of their latest outfit.
“The Dephosphorus concept is allegorical, inspired by cosmology, astrobiology and science fiction authors like Iain M. Banks,” Panos said. “Somewhere in the universe exists an ancient lifeform ‘that is not God,’ Dephosphorus. It scans the universe for other forms of intelligent life, seeks their alliance and assistance in order to pierce the mysteries of the cosmos. When it manifests itself to civilizations like the earthly, it usually gets in contact with a small group (‘those who look to the sky with the right kind of eyes’ – as go the lyrics of the homonymous track from our debut album Night Sky Transform), which provoke radical change often through turmoil and violence.”
While Dephosphorus may be setting their controls for the heart of the sun, some of the mystical inspirations to their music is far more mundane and uniquely Greek.
“The mystical elements possibly originate from my occupation with the local folk music known as ‘rebetiko’ and the melodies which possess me as a lover of traditional Greek music,” Thanos said. “Many times some of the songs have an aura of old. I incorporate those elements inside the grind philosophy or blend them to produce some more psychedelic themes. Whether the audience perceives it or not is not an end in itself. This is simply how Dephosphorus operate.”

In Blackest Night

Dephosphorus will be throwing the doors of their operation open to Thralldom/Unearthly Trance’s Ryan Lipynsky who chipped in on the new song “Unconscious Excursion.” It’s an absolutely inspired pairing because each outfit approaches the same ritualistic experience through opposite means – Dephosphorus through the power of crusty grind and Unearthly Trance through the power of crusty doom. You can see what the common ground might be, right?
“Listening to [Lipynsky’s] music for a very long time, I realized while playing the guitar that subconsciously he helped me perceive things differently,” Thanos said. “You know, it’s like when you play and sometimes your fingers move independently from your will to some positions that somehow feel familiar. That’s more or less how things turned out for ‘Unconscious Excursion.’”
Panos said he met Lipynsky through his work for Metal Hammer, where he chips in the occasional interview. The journalistic pas de deux turned into an email friendship and eventually a full blown musical collaboration as Dephosphorus began penning tunes for Night Sky Transform.
“Shortly before we entered the studio in order to record the album and being through with rehearsals at that moment of time, Thanos wrote this song with Ryan’s playing in mind since he feels connected to him as a guitarist,” Panos said. “The song was recorded as part of our album session and it was practically a jam, since Thanos and Nikos rehearsed it just a couple of times right before tracking it.”
For his part, Lipynsky said he jumped at the chance to work with the Greek up and comers as a nod to the old school tape trading style, he said.
“This is not just something that I would do for every random person that wrote me,” he said. “I knew Panos and crew were of the same mindset because of the years of friendship through mail and email.”
He took the band’s rough track, penned some lyrics and recorded his vocals at his Brooklyn recording studio, adding his own unique spin to Dephosphorus’ signature sound.
“I’ve yet to hear the final mix, but I’d like to think I brought a slightly different color to the Dephosphorus spirit from Greece,” Lipynsky said.
That “different color” sounds as though it may be bleeding through Dephosphorus’ blackened night permanently, shading Night Sky Transform.
“In general there is more space in the themes, the beats are more compact and the vocals are better too,” Thanos said. “But what really makes the difference is that the album has gone deeper into a blackened psychedelia. That’s what’s most interesting, because except the high velocities and frenetic beats there is some intellectualism going on and the tracks unfold when they are meant to. Another factor is that we have worked intensely on the material over a short period of time and that has contributed in making it sound more professional and complete. You’ll realize for yourself when you’ll listen to it!”

G&P Review: Noisear/The Arson Project

I am not writing this book for people below the age of 18, but I see no harm in telling young people to prepare for failure rather than success, since failure is the main thing that is going to happen to them.

Kurt Vonnegut
Hocus Pocus
1990

Noisear/The Arson Project
Land of Entrapment/Split
Relapse

If I were

to break off my sentences at really random

points. That would disrupt any

flow the words would have, making

this really a bitch to read, wouldn’t

it? It

would probably interfere

with any enjoy

ment you’d get from reading this wouldn’

t it?

That’s the frustration I have with what should be an awesome split EP between two great young bands. The breaks between the songs are so long — five and six seconds in some cases — you lose any momentum from one track to the next. Noisear or The Arson Project will bang out a tune that plugs straight into your adrenal glands and then…stop. Long pause, and the bands have to establish that momentum again.
It’s a puzzle because these Relapse 7-inchers (this one is actually from late last year and I’m playing catch up) have been gems: Agoraphobic Nosebleed facing off with The Endless Blockade, Mumakil and Blockheads going head to head for a second time and, of course, Looking for an Answer’s awesome La Caceria. So I have no clue why the pacing on this one got all borked up.
Musically, both bands are working a fine hustle. While Noisear’s four tracks sound like demo versions of songs cut from Subvert the Dominant Paradigm, they display the same skronk ’n’ grind that’s made their name. This is the sound of platinum crickets armed with 21st Century recording technology. “Lamenting Breathalyzation” is Bryan Fajardo’s moment to shine as the bass and drums struggle to keep up with the punishing pace he sets. Guitarist Dorian Rainwater dominates “Li(f)e” with tight-wristed guitar rushes that may be better than some of the songs on their last full length. More than introducing a new sub-sub-sub genre on “Rhino Grind/Frienemy,” the song is one of the band’s better amalgams of all their competing impulses perhaps ever.
Flipside, Sweden’s The Arson Project’s four songs sound much more professional and are a logical continuation of Blood and Locusts. It continues their trajectory as an up and coming Scandi-grind phenomenon. Though the Niklas Larson’s vocals tend to be one dimensional, he gets a chance to stand on his own as the instruments drop away at the close of “Gutter King.” “Life Drained” swipes the glittering guitar tones from some shoegaze troupe, and just about the time you start pondering whether shoegazecore is (or ought) to be a thing, The Arson Project erupt into their wonted grisly grind ways.
Pauses and pacing issues aside, this another tidy little chunk of vinyl that adds Relapse’s imprimatur to two up and comers.

Blast(beat) from the Past: Subcut

Subcut
Contra Fatos Nao Ha Argumentos
Terrorotten
2008
Brazil is a country I’ve wanted to do a regional roundup on for a couple of years now, and bands like Subcut are a large part of why. Unfortunately, I’ve just never been able to assemble the pieces I felt necessary to pay thorough tribute to the country’s prowess, but the country boasts an impressive grindcore culture from the legendary Rot through today’s practitioners. So I've been piecemealing the country's finer points.
Subcut’s debut full length Contra Fatos Nao Ha Argumentos is a grimy, sweaty snapshot of urban angst and barely concealed outrage. This is the Amores Perros of grindcore: from the urban pastiche graffiti-style art through the ghetto desperation of the individual songs, it’s got a street-level outlook on a corrupt, crumbling culture. Even if you don’t speak Portugese, songs about “Fascistas” and between song samples lambasting the “policia” eloquently convey their frustration.
Musically, Contra Fatos Nao Ha Argumentos is a more concise, Brazilian equivalent of Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses. Many of the songs have a real “Denial of Existence” vibe, in particular. The Sao Paulo trio, who all take a turn at the mic, have crafted a tight, fun album that knows its strengths and plays to them, channeling that awesome early ’90s vibe before grindcore became overproduced and stale.
If you haven't gotten down with Brazil's wax, now is a great time to start. And this is a great place to start.

G&P Review: Deus Castiga

Deus Castiga
I’m Alive Fucking Dead
DC Records
If you’re not ashamed to admit having seen it, you may remember Kel Mitchell’s character in the execrable Mystery Men who was gifted with the power of invisibility – provided nobody is looking at him. That is, unfortunately, how I feel about Brazil’s Deus Castiga. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with their thrashulated grind, but each time I’ve sat down to write up their EP I’m Alive Fucking Dead, I’ve drawn a total blank. If they’re not in front of me, Deus Castiga’s 13 songs – other than “Scars,” which winds itself into a nice tight tizzy – just don’t leave that much of an impression.
Deus Castiga rock out like a thrashier Selfhate but there’s some missing X factor to their music that I’m craving but just not getting. The guitars shrill like power drills winding up and the band favors spidery, trebly movements. The upper register screeches border on blistered black metal. I think it’s the drumming that might be my biggest stumbling block. Technically, it’s a busy brew of snare drum fills and blast beats, but the clicking double bass drums grate the nerves.
Deus Castiga are a band with plenty of musical skill to burn and with I’m Alive Fucking Dead they leave it all on the ice, as they say in hockey circles. So I don’t want this to song more negative than it needs to be, but I’m just gonna be looking for the band to make more of a songwriting leap in the future. If you're going to castigate the deus, I want to feel the lashes.

[Full disclosure: The band sent me a download.]

Demo-lition Derby: Gripe

Gripe
The Future Doesn’t Need You
There’s a reason the American Congress takes the summers off. For those who have never experienced a D.C. summer, it’s humid hellbroth of liquefied air and molten pavement that conspires against all forms of mammalian life. The entire city becomes a sodden, festering urban swamp that’s only fit for reptiles and nematodes. So maybe politicians would fit right in after all.
Georgia’s Gripe perfectly encapsulate the reason I loathe this city a good four months out of the year because their sweltering take on grind and power violence on their eight song demo is like watching a thunderstorm build on the horizon on a devastatingly humid summer day. The slow building nature of songs like “Go for the Throat” or “History of Violence” is like praying for the lightning to shear away the oppressive humidity only to cut loose with a barrage of frigid hail. The band has a tinge of ASRA about their protein-rich grind and hints of Benumb in their punked stops and starts.
Taken individually, the songs on The Future Doesn’t Need You massage the grindcore node of your limbic region. However, I wonder how the songs would hold up under full length conditions. While Gripe can fashion a great tune, too many times they fall back on a blast/slow part/blast formulation. It’s a move they’ve mastered, but one trick does not make a magic show.
However, this is a very promising effort but an up and comer. You can check out The Future Doesn’t Need You at their Bandcamp page.

Demo-lition Derby: Divorce Party

Divorce Party
Astrocongertion Oporium
I hate to start with a motheaten cliché, but here it goes: Divorce Party are about the journey not the destination. That is unless you consider “down the rabbit hole” to be a destination. A potent audio psychedelic, Divorce Party is what would happen if Melt-Banana were to drunkenly hook up with Minus the Bear for some Phantomsmasher cosplay at a chiptunes convention.
What I’m saying is somewhere James Plotkin is smiling in approval, but if you’re not a multidimensional musical visionary, the five songs of blibbity bloop core with Charles Dodgson-style nonsensical wordplay can be frustratingly discursive. “Chipidy Clop,” a fairly representative sample smack in the middle of the EP, is a giant bouncy balloon castle of a song where the rhythms stumble drunkenly and slide askance, leaving you little purchase. It’s a kaleidoscopic swirl of coruscating shapes and colors. The band holds up a fun house mirror to grind and punk sensibilities, but I found many of the songs never seemed to grow beyond mildly entertaining slights of musical hand. Whether this Jabberwock-core is a postmodern rip on musical stagnation or audio trolling, that’s for you to decide. Two of their EPs are available at their Bandcamp page.